
JSTRATED BY 
TEEPLE BaVIS. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



mmx Goiiijnrj|t l|a. 

13^5 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Tin: WIIITK TSAR 



AM) OTIIKR roK.MS 



HENRY^EDLOW 



Illustkatki) 

1!Y 

J. Steeple Davis 



NEW YORK 

J. SELWIN TAIT & SONS 

Gr> Fifth Avenue 




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.r. SELWIN TAIT * 

All rhillls rrsrrr,; 



TO 

HORACE B. FRY 

Chc6c I'cvtics nix ^c^icatc^ 

AS A FEEBLE TESTLMONY, NOT ONLY OF MY ADMIRATION 

OF HI!S INTELLECTUAL FELLOWSHIP WITH MEN OF 

JIAIiK IN MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC Airi'. 

BUT LIKEWISE OF MV ENJOYMENT 

WITH HIM OF A LITEliAHY 

CAM.lRADEllIE. 

HE Nil Y BEDLOW. 

New York, Jfiiiuari/. IS'.I."). 



THE WHITE TSAR 



I. 

He was cubbed in a cave of Arctic snow, 

Among ruthless kin of that region f rore ; 
He is King where the Norland whirlwinds blow, 

And the toppling Ice-cliffs plunge and roar. 
He sits alert where the hunnuocks crowd; 

When the Boreal Cyclone churns the sea, 
And the rending Ice-pack thunders loud— 

To the growl of his grizzly majesty. 



II. 

Where tlie white-fox harks and the Spitz-dog liowls — 

At tlie ])hant()m gleams of Amoral light, 
Over huminock and drift he roams, or prowls — 

In the stahhing cold of the Polar night. 
In gorges rent hy the turhnlent deep 

He's a fearless Hunter in weltering gloom. 
Or the Cairn's grim Warder, where hold men sleep — 

Emhalmed hy frost till the crack of doom. 



III. 

Ri(iHT royal liis statt' <>" the Ice-foot's peak, 

UiHiioved 1)V tlie Chaos and Coil helow. 
The swirl of the sleet — the shrill wimrs shriek. 

Appareled in ermine of spani;led snow. 
His is a kini;(loni forever patrolled 

By ghastliest agents of Death, as fell 
— In tyrannous charter of endless cold — 

As the gelid circle of Dante's Hell. 



IV. 



His haunts arc the Earth's niaoiu'tic poh^, 

And its lodestone Alps he (•laml)ers on, 
Weird tracts, whore the racing- snow-waves roll, 

Before the Arctic Eurochdon. 
He prowls hy light of the Norths false dawn, 

O'er deserts of sdence and waste-wide steppes 
Where fissure and chasm ai)ysnial yawn. 

Mocking' the sight with unspeakahle depths. 



'Tis He who is Lord of tliat baleful zone. 

Usui'])efl by the measureless cold of space. 
An Empire ehartless — a realm unknown — 

And Glacier-barred from the hum;in race. 
From his frostv lair in the mountain's rift, 

He sees the s(piadrons that northward <;o, 
Gored by the cusps of the Berg- adrift, 

Or braved in the crush of the i>rindin<>' Floe. 



VI. 

Hk elaniluMs over tlu'ir eiilililed decks, 

The eiiilxxlied oiinmess of Arctic night! 
And nuzzles their (U';id on tin' l)attered wrecks, 

A trii<;ic and gruesome Trog-lodyte ! 
Gi-apiiliiig the Wahais or chitching the Seal; 

]iv the Ice-l)link's i)ale and spectral glow, 
Of perihjus foes no fear to feel 

Save the sledded and Spitz-drawn Esquimaux. 



\ 



VII. 

The iiii;ittaiiial)le, uttiTiiiost Nortli, 

Where the Ptanuagairs ilij^ht has never gone, 
Whence the cruel frosts of the World go forth, 

And man has not lieen, since Eocene dawn. 
No Ocean Hashing in radiant l)riiH'. 

But frozen Chaos, petrific, profound, 
W here gaunt, grim Crags in their death-cold shine 

Reverherate Ht)rror, as if t'were Sound. 



VIII. 

He is Feudal Lord of tliat lonesome clime, 

From its Ice-capped verge to its solid sea, 
His vassals are Tempests and Ice and Rime, 

They guard his fastness inexorably, 
Which man shall forever in vain assail! 

As proof to assault as to Sap and Mine ! 
For its o-lacier-hastions none can scale, 

Nor vanquish its Ice-pack's serried line. 



IX. 

Aloxe ill that wiiiiiowcd wilderness, 

Fearless he ranges o'er waste and wold. 
By ehasiiis rent in resistless stress 

Of steadfast, inconceivable cold. 
In Stygian gloom or Boreal light, 

By fixed-star fires or midnight sun, 
He's Tsar of a realm, immaculate white. 

Death, Silence, Horror, and He all one 



XL 

Its force by no Paixlian or Dalilgren bafked : 

No ponderous Krupp, behind bulwarks seen : 
Yet a chance essay of its (U'ead impact, 

As deadly as Nitro-Glycerine. 
A clue to some Ocean Mysteries ! 

Abandoned hulks, lost crews, wrecks, diiftino- spars, 
And f()underin<>' slii])s which no eve sees. 

Save the Omniscient God's and the Grizzlv Tsar's. 



DIES CANICULARES 



'S\i 




I. 

Days Leonine! a led-disk sinkini; low; 

Quite (lead the world of glad green siumner lies; 

Now russet with a desert's tawny glow- 
Under th' unliroken lironze of cloudless skies. 

'I'he wind-sweiit downs and fragrant woods ;ire stilled. 
Intense the rural (|niet of the scene, 

With silence, like a living presence filled, 

And comino ni<>ht, hot, sultry, and serene. . 



11. 

A lack of zest! a lassitiido of will! 

The slothful languor, of exhaustion hred ! 
The mystic silence of a scene so still ! 

The hush that haunts a honie where lies tiu^ dead. 
For Summer's desolation lies around 

Arid as with torrific drought of Scindes 
Or sin)oon-l)lasts, and although clouds abound, 

Thev seem hut Mausoleums of dead winds. 



III. 

Since dawn, in lieliiu- consort with the Snn 

Has Sirius flamed, .slow-einding to the West ; 
With Summer's solstice-verdure (juite un(h)ne ; 

And ve<>etative nature sore o])[)ressed ; 
Of son<;-t'ull coverts heat makes solitudes, 

And all their feathered ])opulace succumh ; 
Within the mazy tangle of the woods, 

The voices of the rivulets are dumh. 








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IV. 

Till', wild-Howcis in the tori'iil fields are dead, 

Slain l)v impityiiig heat and unslaked thirst ; 
The Linden's leai'v Vallomhrosa shed, 

Seared as tiie Fio- in Bethany, Christ-eursed, 
The shriveled vine, in dust and eohweh elings, 

The brazen sunflower bends its head in shade, 
The Poultry gasp with half unfolded wings : 

In turbid pools the sweltering cattle wade. 



V. 

The short dull sultry nights; long scorching days, 

When no leaf stirs, no freshening winds arise, 
But all the iialjiitating earth ahlaze, 

lieneath the glowing hrazier of the skies. 
The Golden Fleece of cloud, that in the West, 

Awaits the hlood-red disk's foredoomed eclipse. 
Stands — to the fervid fancy there confessed — 

The " Great White Throne " of the Apocalypse. 



VI. 

Thk muzzled mastiff lolls his drippiiii;- tongue; 

The (Irduiiii;- flies wheel ceaselessly ahoiit ; 
The roliiii leaxes his noon-tide song nnsnn<>', 

While in the tepid Hsli])ond ^asps the trout. 
The middav fervor raids the drowsy woods, 

Now yellowino- towards the Autumn's rueful ])lio-ht ; 
Upon her nest the mother robin broods 

With open bill and wings in act of flight. 



VII. 

EvAPOKATION, like a t'liinace smoke, 

Rolls laiul-ward as a t'evei-hreediiig' mist; 
The Mill <;riii(ls not. no fear tlie Miller choke 

With wind-lilown powder of the dusty i^'rist. 
Glossed ill a hreathless ealm the river lies. 

Like staiidiii<>-\vater in a lone lagoon. 
And, as the reek of some <;reat torment, rise 

Its vajiors in the dazzle of the noon. 






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VIII. 

All solare from the closing' day, a dream ! 

ITnder the Heaven's constellated rays 
There is no respite ! and the midnights seem 

Only less bright, bnt not less burning, days. 
A light that dazzles and a glare that blights. 

No frolic wind at sport amid the leaves, 
And not a lireath through all the sultry nights 

To stir the tissue that the spider weaves. 



IX. 

The town lies hiislicd throunliout the l)iazen noon, 

Tliere is no traiii|) of tiaffif-seekino- feet; 
The fervid air is dead, or in a swoon, 

All vital \i<;or atrophied with heat, 
Far oif some Imrnished dome <>lints dazzlin<ilv. 

Imjtnlsivelv the eyes its splendor slum 
Which ill the blinding' g-litter seems to he 

A molten drop from the candescent sini. 



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X. 

So rests it shiniiiieriiio- in tlie {loo'-dav lioats. 

Its metal roof's and spires Haiuiui;- so, 
One thinks of Sodom : in its torrid streets. 

Of Shadraeh, Meshaeli, and Abedneyo. 
The homeless ours, the heat in vain evade, 

As stretched on scorching- flag's they panting lie. 
Or staggering onward from the sun to shade. 

Seem threatening rabies with a lurid eye. 



XL 

Upon the liiyliway, dustv as a hin, 

The gawky rustic with his team keeps pace ; 
Drippiu")- with reechy sweat and now and then, 

Witli yriniy shirt-sleeve, niojis a grimier face. 
Behind high-stepping- steeds — wealth-conscious, proud, 

Reclined in languid ease, with regal air. 
His chariot Hashing through a golden cloud, 

Rolls, like an earthly God, the Millionaire. 



XII. 

A HoiTNDLEKs joy it Were to see aj^ain 

Tlie festal glory of the past; once more 
To witness shine ehase shadow o'er the grain, 

And hear the pine-woods wliispering like the shore; 
Refreshed as men in barren lands, in drouoht, 

Seeing the rain-elonds gathering on the hills, 
Hearing 'mong craggy peaks the thunder's shout, 

And the low laughter of the brimming rills. 




3CSgSS3Ki9»T« 









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XIII. 
Hr.KST l)i-a(l-i((ll nf the coiiseciatcd hours, 

(No nio-i,-ai-,l larg-e.ss of the Junf h(.|ii<;ii ! i 
Wlieii l)osk and dell with all their chalieed Howers. 

Poured perfume out like .sacraiiieutal wine. 
And sunnner as a rosy, sainted Nun, 

Whose vows, renoiincino- worldliness, were oiveii, 
Doff'd veil and coif— her Reeluse hojjes were won — 

For such terrestrial bliss made Earth seem Heaven. 



XIV. 

The melodious riot of the nestiiii;- liinls; 

The viig-iii raiment of tlie woods and plains; 
The lush oreen pastures and tiie urazinj^- herds ; 

The patterini;- tumult of the useful rains. 
The fiat^rance of the flowers at fallini>- dew 

Balsamic odors of the Pine and Fii- ; 
The homeless clouds that drift athwart the Itlue, 

And halmy winds with all the leaves astir. 







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XV. 

Thk t'vaiiesceiK'c of the trailiiii;- mists, 

Tliat \i'il tlic [)ine-t(>|)s wltli tlu-ir va]i()rv lawi 
\ ()lii[)tu(iiis lann'iiors ; loxt'is' niiKiiilioht tr\sts; 

Tlic s()iii;-l)ii(l i;teetin<;s of tlie herald dawn. 
The (h'\v-\vet ruses that await tiie hee, 

The afteisiidwei-iiiceiise of the h)aiii, 
The waviiin' c'lo\ei-, like a wind-swept sea, 

With even hillow tossing- piiiple foam. 



XVI. 

The cloistral (juiet of the Forest's heart, 

The sombre stretches of its dusk detiles. 
Where the world's stir has neither place nor part 

In the green gloom of its cathedral aisles. 
The houdoii's of the wood-nymphs, cool and lone. 

By legend-folk deserted long ago. 
Leaving — since Sylphs and Dryads all are gone — 

Tlie l)rooding silence of a nameless woe. 



XVII. 

Morn's haiikiiicciisc ethcriallv faint ; 

The sweet coiiteiitioii of tlie liirds in soiii;-, 
Tlie Oriole's aiitliem and tlie Swallow's plaint. 

The Thrush, the Laureate oi the choral tliron< 
The Ooustellations" i^-jorv and the Moon's, 

Studding- the sa]i]iliire vastness of tlie skies; 
The salt-sea freshness of tlie sandy dunes. 

The thrill and pathos of Immensities. 



:r-V- 




xvm. 

But now one wearies of the tristful dav ! 

And in a dull dejection frets the soul ; 
Or roused to action, finds liis footsteps stray 

Most i)urposeless — and careless of their <>-oal. 
There is no softness in th' ahounding light, 

All sense of summer-wassail past and gone, 
On the green-growing world a canker hlight. 

And universal loveliness — forlorn. 



XIX. 



Earth lies athirst ! .iihI with (luinli plcidini;- mouth, 

Like Dives (hnniu'd. to Hcncii in \;iiii apjieals. 
Tlie lee-set clouds that tliiiiidcr iii the Soiitli, 

Add liiit more torment to the pani;' she feels. 
The illnsne henison of eomini;' rain. 

Beholding' there the vapory coiigTess massed, 
Only to see the paueant fade again ; 

Breaking the promise to the hope at last. 



XX. 

The soil is asiu's and the air is steam. 

The fervid Heavens like a l)Uinin<;- scioll. 
And all the earth one inealescent <)leani 

From glowin<>- zenith to the fusing- pole. 
Th' aee(>m])lishment of projihecv hegnn 1 

Or, Fancy ranging back to mythic days, 
Sees Phaeton drive the Chariot of the Sun, 

And in his madness set the World alilaze. 



p,ki)Awki:ykii 




^ ^'''A -^ 



I. 

Thk shadows on my way were loiij^- — 

I jouiiieyed as the day was cdosiiin' : 
111 stiihhled swaths — a weary throng' — 

Tile smi-lirow lied Sickle-men rejKisnig. 
From f'oith the giiiUed slieaxes she ste|)|ted. 

With braided loeks, rolies loosely Howing, 
And the rude jiath towards Lydda ke])t — 

The wcarv road that 1 was ooinj'-. 



J 




II. 



Slowi.v tlu' smkiiii;- sun iiinuciscd 

Tlu' euf'olcliiii;- mists in mvs elect lic 
The |);i<ie;iiitrv of* Dawn ie\erse(l. 

Or (IvIml;' <lavli<;lit"s fel)rile hectie. 
Uniitteialile s|)len(l()rs streamed, 

111 \ast eluoiuatic cataclvsm. 
Till all the emhlazoned Heaven seemed 

I'hantasmagoiia of the I'rism. 



III. 

Tlioiii^li taint, and tiai;<;ini;', travel-worn. 

She. sinilln<;', looked so l<ind vet tjueenlv ; 
As mists scroll haekward from the dawn, 

All ruth furled from my heart serenely. 
Va<>'ue sadness unto joy i-ave room. 

Before this fair and <;-entle comer. 
As to the sunshine, woodland <>'loom, 

When Autumn sij-hs throuoh all its summer. 



IV. 

The Svi'ian sum liad Uisst'd licr clit'ck', 

Coiiuuinu'liiii;' tints of rose and cedar; 
PerolKiiice the (hiii<>hter of a Sheykli, 

"A dweller in the tents of Kedar; "' 
Yet timid as distrustful deer. 

That lirowse on Moah's tender mosses, 
Or youn<>' gazelles which feed in fear. 

Around the lilied water-courses. 



« ^1 




V. 



No yasliiiial< lit-r sweet face concfaled — 

By Islam's Creed "Veiled should he woman "— 
Her brunette heautv stood revealed. 

Ill opeu scorn oF ('reed and Koran. 
She i^iive a startled look askanee, 

'Neath arching- hrows which seemed to lower, 
Yet somethino- wistful in the glance. 

That charmed and cheered the wav-worn Giaoi 




X'-mitV^'^,'"'" 



VI. 



LoN(j-LAsnKi) and AliiioiKl-sliajMMl tlic eves. 

Whose (laikiicss Udhlil inadc nol the deeper. 
O'er wliicli faint lines of hrow arise, 

(airved like the siekk^ of the rea|)er. 
Her arms were (h'cked with ^ohk'ii hands. 

And one snstanied an anti(|ue pitcher. 
Poised on her daintv head — Her Iiands ! 

Could Idienna make tiieir hue tiie licher? 



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1- .P<-!^ 




VII. 



Was she a maid of Aryan race, 

lirowiu'il I)\ tlic Lilivan desert's i^lowiiis;- ? 
Or in her form and stately s^racc. 

Her proud Semitic lineage showing V 
No liig'ot she of Mooslim crt't'd, 

Perchance an Alien ! taught to scoff it. 
She was of heantv rare indeed, 

I'll swear hy Allah and his projiiiet. 



VIII. 

With downwanl evelids paced slic I)v, 

Her dark locks hound witli <;littcriiio' fillet. 
Graceful as when, the harvest nioh. 

Bends to the hreeze the rustHn<;- millet. 
Her limhs with rhythniie ease ind)ued, 

Made onward motion seem like t^lidino-. 
Her robes but showed her chastely nude, 

To eyes profane such charms confiding. 



TX. 

Hkk cliii<;iiin ganiieiits. Iialf atloat, 

A lovely tiunult made in waviiijr, 
And where they closely ])ies,s — denote, 

En()n<;h to set a Sculptor ravins;-. 
For through her tunic's tieaclierous woof. 

(Jlin<>-ing- or lo(»se, was made disclosure 
Of faidtless form, artistic proof — 

In all its contour's chaste exposure. 




y^3^ i 



X. 

The cassia-seen ted Zephyr bold ! 

Of every ehariii a ruffian claimant ! 
Inijtassioned — formed of them a moidd. 

Makint;- a matrix of her raiment. 
Hei- lithe and willowy form, exj)resse(l 

Its and)er tint through tunic flowing, 
Its soft voluptuous lines confessed, 

In Sunset's filtered radiance glowing. 



XI. 

One iiioineMt 1 eiiiaptiiu'd stood, 

My si<;lit this sudden vision (laziiii>'. 
This type of Orient womanhood, 

Thus ottered to my reverent oazini*'. 
Oh, saered reahn of Palestine, 

Though thralled hy Imaums, Sheiks, and Fakirs, 
Is it a wonder things divine. 

Still linger on thy holy acres? 




•.*i's' ', 



ii»*t 




XIT. 

Adown the road all laillaiitly. 

Streamed shafts of i;()ldeii-moted splendor. 
Onward — a monstrous tra\esty, 

My shadow stalked, grotes((uely slender. 
Oer dusking field's a glory streamed. 

The west flamed like an awful pyre, 
While eastward Lydda flashed and gleamed, 

Like a new Sodom smote with fire. 



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XIII. 

As fainter Sunset's <;l()i-v grew, 

And twiliolit veiled the distant village. 
When t'lagrance rose as fell the dew 

And shade masked all the golden tillage; 
She journeyed hy the nodding wheat. 

With hraided locks, rohes looselv flowing. 
And paced the road with sandalled feet — 

My heart went with the maiden going. 






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XIV 



Wlieii r^ydda's palms looked weird in i;looni. 

And slic HI <;linnneriiii>' distance faded, 
When dassia-linds and Sjindal-hlooni. 

The hlood with sensnons fiai;rance raided : 
When, 'neath the starlight. Hasiied like n'enis — 

As nightfall on the landsca|ie settles — 
The Opal dew-drops on the stems 

Of way-side weeds and wild-rose petals; 



XV. 



When homeward wearv ciuiiels stalked, 

Witli (•linkiii<>- l)ells, and liar\est laden. 
And with tlieir Hocks the Shepherds walked. 

And with her "leanino-s came the maiden ; 
"Till with the ni<>ht-droj)s dripped niv locks," 

I lino;-ered on the road to Lvdda. 
7\n(l drew not nigh nor tents nor Hocks. 

But wandered where the dusk had hid her. 



XVI. 

As haunts the eve wlieii shut, tlic Holit 

\\ liicli (hi/.zlcil vision 111 hcholdini;'. 
So deej)enino- sha(h(\vs to iiiv sioht, 

Her jilmiitoiii iinane seenie(l eiit'ohliiii;'. 
The ylorv of tlie sunset's dyes 

Encompassed her — n)y view infected 
Hehl, as on darkness of ch)sed eyes, 

Her <>lo\ving spectrum there projected. 



XVII. 

Thus roltcd in i;Hli;iiicc as slic went. 

As synchronal witli my first seein<>', 
Perfume and liolit coincident. 

Seemed onlv part of her rare l)ein<>'. 
Night's cunnini;- clieinistry distilled 

From calyx and corolla — essence 
Perturbino' sweet — the spot was tilled. 

As liy her still pervading' ])resence. 



XVIII. 

I could not break the suhtle thrall. 

I needs must near to Lvdda dally, 
I heard the dute-like Itys-call 

Of ni<;htin<^ales in ijiove an<l valley; 
And like a l)ridal torch afar, 

Amid her radiant sisters <^leamin<;-. 
Beheld the Anahita star. 

And still I lingered, dreaming, dreaming. 




^^ 




XIX. 

What was it that endeared her so? 

Its deep and sovereign eharni infusing", 
The ideal faee of h)ng' ago 

That eonies all unaware, while musing'; 
A sweetly haunting face in truth, 

With its old thrall my soul assailing, 
A lovely legend of my youth, 

Linked with regret ! now una\ ailing. 



:i>*^v 




XX. 

No fasting- Payuini, caliii hut yearn iiiy-. 

As slow the rolHny monieuts ran, 
His wistful eyes with longing-, turning. 

Towards set of sun in Rhaniadan, 
Felt more the joy of a repast, 

That solaced need, tlian I in seeing 
This vision ! as evoked hy fast. 

This pieturesque ideal being. 




i?ttp|,^Dav,S- 



XXI. 

Aweary I of sand and sun. 

And swarthy hordes of ticrt-e Isliniael, 
No gentler thino-s to h)ok upon. 

Than those rude sons of nomad Baal. 
Her face seemed sweet as desert wells, 

Which every Islam Hadji hlesses, 
Cheering- as clano- of cloistral bells, 

To wav-worn saint in wildernesses. 



XXII. 

The Syrian maid, whose cheek enil)ro\viie(l, 

A soft Ponieg'i-aiiate tint (hsch)ses, 
Dark eyes with meaning so profound, 

And lips like folded leaves of roses : 
Daughter of Jew or Bedawee ! 

Such grace of form, such chaste demeanor, 
I'd swear there's not a fairer She, 

' Twixt holiest Mecca and Medina. 



XXIII. 

I (Ireanit'd of Icisses sweet as wine, 

Lij)s eooler than Siloah's water; 
Clasped in lier arms, which like the vine. 

Gave love, for streng-th that did snpjiort her ; 
Of love, where airs breathe nard and halni. 

And hulbnl.s sing 'neath fig and myrtle. 
Sweet dime where spring the pine and palm, 

And groves are choral with the turtle. 



XXIV. 

With scrip and staff, a wearv liliii.jj. 

I could ha\'e toiled tlirong-li sands to Mekkeh, 
And won the Palmer's iioly l)ad<>e, 

And hrought back blessed gifts to deck her : 
I could have changed my sterner creed. 

For Islam's faith in famed Hhoorecyeh, 
And deemed my heaven fulfilled ; my meed 

But one, and she, mv Bedaweeveh. 



XXV. 

Such joys throiioh all my being run, 

At sight of her — Samaria's daughter. 
As when through desert sand and sun. 

Worn Hagar saw the gushing water: 
I could have toiled as .laeoh did, 

A shepherd for the maiden Leah, 
And tilled the earth or fed the kid. 

For very love of Bedaweeveh. 



